Description
Just at midnight, the Priest first and then the Faithful sing softly on the holy night of the Resurrection, “Thy Resurrection O Christ our Saviour, the Angels in Heaven sing, enable us on earth, to glorify Thee with purity of heart.” This is the conquering of death that was dreamt about by the philosophers of every age, but here it has become a living reality that we can actively participate in when we prepare ourselves through prayer and fasting to receive the Light of this Glorious Resurrection that illumines all of Creation. Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen! Amen.
In this modern Greek icon two angels fly overhead bearing the instruments of Christ’s Crucifixion, which is the gateway to His rising from the dead. Christ stands here over the broken doors of Hades and pulls Adam and Eve out of their tombs to bring them back to Paradise, while St. John the Baptist and Kings David and Solomon both look on and are also brought with them into the Brightness of Heaven. This is the Feast of Feasts and the Night of Nights in all of history, when most fully Eternity intersects and interpenetrates temporal time, and all life on earth.